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Doctor of Education Ministry Project
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| If you are interested in the ministry project defined below, please feel free to contact me. The project will be conducted during the fall of next year (2007). |
| Project Title: Developing a Leadership Growth Plan for Adult Bible Study Leaders in the churches of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. |
| Goals: |
| 1) Each teacher will develop a one year plan for personal growth; |
| 2) Teachers will learn and apply Bible Study growth principles in their personal ministry; |
| 3) Teachers will participate in a weekly growth and accountability group; |
| 4) Teachers will demonstrate their class is a mission-driven group by leading the class in a ministry project. |
| The biblical texts I have chosen for this project and their relationship are: |
| 1) Ephesians 4:11-13 – My ministry is to equip and mobilize teachers to grow the body of Christ; |
| 2) Ezra 7:10 – Ezra is an example of a teacher who studied God’s Word, grew personally, and then taught; |
| 3) James 3:1-2 – Teachers are held to a higher standard of accountability, and the church should provide an avenue of accountability to assist them in their ministry; |
| 4) Acts 11:22-26 – Paul and Barnabas equipped the church at Antioch for one year. Equipping takes both time and commitment. |
| Advantages for churches that choose to participate in the project: |
| 1) An opportunity to train their adult Bible study teachers in the principles of home groups or Sunday School; |
| 2) Teachers will finish the project with a concise one-year plan for personal spiritual growth (what a deal!); |
| 3) The church will have the opportunity to develop an effective leadership meeting(s) for their teachers. These meetings will be focused on accountability rather than information dispersal and can happen just as easily at Starbucks on Tuesday morning as at the church facility on Wednesday night; |
| 4) Each group or class in their church will be involved in some type of mission-oriented ministry during the 15 weeks; |
| 5) A number of surveys will be conducted which will give the pastors of these churches some valuable insights into the leaders and attendees of their Bible study groups; |
| 6) Hopefully, a positive attitude toward growth and a trend of healthy, accountable relationships among the church’s Bible study leaders will be formed and will continue after the project. |
| I will meet regularly with the Bible study director or pastor of each church that participates so that I can assist them with implementing the project in their church. |
| It is my prayer that this project will be a blessing to Oklahoma churches in the future. I have intentionally chosen a project that is focused on lay leadership because I think that our lay people are a vital key in reaching our state with the gospel and they are still a largely untapped resource. |